Wolf River Wildlife Area

Wolf River Wildlife Area is located in northwest Winnebago County in the town of Wolf River. Approximately 1,800 acres are owned and managed by the
state.

The wildlife area is a wetland area where the Wolf and Rat Rivers meet. The Deltox
Marsh segment was once a wire grass (sedge) marsh that was important to the local rug industry, but was converted to a canary grass marsh with scattered stands of willow.
The Metzig Marsh segment consists of a lowland brush and grass complex (shrub carr) with cattail in the wetter sites. Stands of soft maple and brush occupy the narrow ridges along the river channel and oxbows.

Find Wolf River Wildlife Area 1 mile southwest of Zittau. A Parking area is located at the end of Schmidt Lane. There is an additional walk-in access point off of HWY II.

Management

The Wolf River WA is managed to provide opportunities for public hunting, fishing, trapping and other outdoor recreation while protecting the qualities of the unique native communities and associated species found on the property. The primary habitat management opportunity on the property is the maintenance and restoration of the extensive sedge meadow habitat type through reed canary grass control, cattail management, mowing, prescribed burning and herbicide treatments. Limited opportunities to maintain bottomland hardwoods, open water and emergent marsh are pursued where feasible. Where feasible, populations of invasive species are controlled or eliminated by cutting, pulling, burning, herbicide treatment and/or bio-control.

The Wolf River Wildlife Area is identified as a Conservation Opportunity Area (COA) of Upper Midwest/Regional significance for medium-sized rivers and streams in Wisconsin's Wildlife Action Plan. It is also identified as a COA of state significance for floodplain forest communities - most notably sedge meadow.